Zaveri Bazaar victim gets a new lease of life

Fateh Bahadur was selling pani-puri at Zaveri Bazar on July 13, when a powerful explosion rocked the area. Shrapnel from the bomb ripped through his intestines and diaphragm. A metal wire pierced Bahadur's body, severely damaging his spleen and liver.

Fateh Bahadur was selling pani-puri at Zaveri Bazar on July 13, when a powerful explosion rocked the area. Shrapnel from the bomb ripped through his intestines and diaphragm. A metal wire pierced Bahadur's body, severely damaging his spleen and liver.

The 38-year-old Bahadur was rushed to the GT Hospital where he lay in critical condition. "The injury to his diaphragm was restricting his breathing," said Dr Vipin Mundada, a surgeon from the GT Hospital who operated upon him. "Moreover, a part of his rib cage had shattered, and pieces had fallen into the body cavity. Air entered the chest wall, and he had a minor head injury too." The doctors had to conduct a surgery without conducting any tests. "His blood pressure was dipping and we had to rush him to the operation theatre. It was on the operating table that we realised that the case was more serious than it seemed," said Dr A Choudhari, medical superintendent, GT Hospital.

"Finally, on Sunday, we could bring him to the general ward. He should be fit for discharge in a week," Dr Choudhari said.

Bahadur remembers telling Dr Mundada before the surgery that he wanted to live for the sake of his five daughters. "I am the sole breadwinner of my family. My five daughters are between three and 13 years old. I guess it is their luck that saved me," said Bahadur whose family lives in Uttar Pradesh.